


The Kidnapped, The Unloved, and the Abused

by AsherTheGayBoi



Series: The Kidnapped, The Unloved, and The Abused [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abusive Dursley Family (Harry Potter), Black Hermione Granger, Child Abuse, Dumbledore isn't a bad person, Family Fluff, Fighting trolls, Gen, Hair Braiding, Harry Potter is a Good Friend, Hermione Doesn't hate her dorm mates, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Neville is a smol anxious bean, Past Child Abuse, Ron Weasley is a Good Friend, Sirius Black Free from Azkaban, Sirius Black is Lord Black, Sirius and Harry Bonding Time, Tag as I go cuz NO SPOILERS, They're all good friends okay, always assume any hermione i write is black unless otherwise specified, but he still makes mistakes and judges people to easily
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27689786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsherTheGayBoi/pseuds/AsherTheGayBoi
Summary: Everyone knew the story. One night ten years ago, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named ventured to Godric’s Hollow, along with a few of his Death Eaters, to kill the Potter’s and their two children. He succeeded in killing Lily and James Potter, but when he tried to kill the children, his curse backfired, and killed him instead, leaving each with a curse mark. Little two-year-old Harry had it on his forehead. No one knew where the other child’s curse mark was, as the Death Eaters kidnapped little soon to be three-year-old Lilian and she was never seen again. When the Death Eaters kidnapped Lilian, Peter Pettigrew was revealed to be the key to the Potter’s untimely demise and was sentenced to the Kiss. Sirius Black was a free man, and everyone knew of the furious Wizengamot battles he had with Dumbledore for custody of Harry.However, no one knew of the little girl who cried out for her mommy every night, only to be silenced with a curse or backhand at the Lestrange Manor. Lilian Potter grew up as Anya Lestrange, unloved and unwanted. Harry Potter grew up in the Muggle world, unloved and unaware of everything.
Relationships: Harry Potter & Hermione Granger & Ron Weasley & Original Female Character, Harry Potter & OC & Ron Weasley, IN A FAMILIAL WAY, Sirius Black & Harry Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, they are literally eleven - Relationship
Series: The Kidnapped, The Unloved, and The Abused [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2024927
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	1. The Odd One Out

**Author's Note:**

> This is that story that's been keeping me from my other fics, but to me, it's worth it.

Everyone knew the story. One night ten years ago, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named ventured to Godric’s Hollow, along with a few of his Death Eaters, to kill the Potter’s and their two children. He succeeded in killing Lily and James Potter, but when he tried to kill the children, his curse backfired, and killed him instead, leaving each with a curse mark. Little two-year-old Harry had it on his forehead. No one knew where the other child’s curse mark was, as the Death Eaters kidnapped little soon to be three-year-old Lilian and she was never seen again. When the Death Eaters kidnapped Lilian, Peter Pettigrew was revealed to be the key to the Potter’s untimely demise and was sentenced to the Kiss. Sirius Black was a free man, and everyone knew of the furious Wizengamot battles he had with Dumbledore for custody of Harry. 

However, no one knew of the little girl who cried out for her mommy every night, only to be silenced with a curse or backhand at the Lestrange Manor. Lilian Potter grew up as Anya Lestrange, unloved and unwanted. Harry Potter grew up in the Muggle world, unloved and unaware of everything.

*~*~*

Anya Lestrange was an odd girl, to say the least. She held almost none of the Lestrange or Black madness, and where the rest of her family were adamant blood purists, she was beaten multiple times for reading muggle books and staring at muggles through her singular window. Bellatrix often compared the girl to her cousin Sirius in her mind. Once they performed the blood adoption, her red hair darkened to an almost black color, and her bright green eyes darkened as well. Of course, that was because of the extensive glamour charms put on her, as the adoption wasn’t willing, so none of the physical traits were passed on. She was still a Potter, and Bellatrix hated it. So she made sure to remind Anya often that she was a  _ Lestrange _ , and what was expected of her. Bellatrix of course had no idea that Anya remembered herself, remembered her real parents and her real name. It was one of the many secrets Anya guarded with her life. Anya also remembered that she had a brother and that she loved her brother a lot. Whenever they would beat her, Anya would go to her imaginary world where her brother, her parents, and two people called Padfoot and Moony lived as one happy family. 

For ten years the Lestranges raised- if one could call it that- Anya until she got her Hogwarts letter, and they sent her by herself to Diagon Alley. There, she met a boy named Harry Potter. She found herself taking an immediate liking to Harry, not because of his fame, but because of how shy he was, it was endearing. 

On the Hogwarts Express, Anya found Harry in a compartment by himself. 

“Mind if I join you? Everywhere else is full.” Harry looked away from the window to look at her. His face brightened when he saw her. “Yeah, totally! Anya, right?” She nodded as she sat down, fiddling with the edge of her robe sleeve. She had an odd feeling she knew him, but in a deeper way than ‘Hey I’ve seen you before.’ She looked up sharply when someone else opened the compartment door.

“Can I sit? Everywhere else-”

“-is full. Yeah, go ahead.” Harry nodded at the redheaded boy. “You’re Ron, right?” 

“Yeah. You’re Harry Potter.” It wasn’t a question. “And who are you?” It wasn’t quite mean, just sharp. 

“I’m Anya.” Ron’s face darkened. “Anya Lestrange?” It was definitely mean now. She blinked back tears, she  _ hated  _ stupid Bellatrix and hated everything to do with that stupid name. She felt a searing pain in her mind. It forced Anya to remember the curse her “mother” had put on her when she was six. She wasn’t allowed to curse Bellatrix or anyone else in the Lestrange family, mentally or verbally, without causing herself pain. “Y-yeah…” Ron looked at her in disgust for a moment, then his face softened. “I can’t really judge anyone based off of family, especially when you’ve been nothing but nice to a blood traitor like me.” Anya felt her hands unclench. “You’re not a blood traitor just because you have the capacity to treat everyone equally. Pureblood rules are skewed and completely stupid.” Ron openly smiled at her, while Harry looked confused. Anya decided to move the conversation towards lighter topics. She asked Harry, “What are you most excited about for Hogwarts?” Harry’s eyes lit up as he began to ask as many questions as he could about Hogwarts after he briefly mentioned that he’d grown up with Muggles. Anya mostly listened to Ron retell stories his brothers had told him, as she hadn’t been allowed to talk about Hogwarts with anyone. Ron didn’t stop talking until a brunette girl with the bushiest hair imaginable opened the compartment door, inquiring about a lost toad. Unfortunately, she caught Ron right before he was about to show them a spell two of his brothers gave him for his mouse, Fluffs. It was quite a cute little thing, really. 

“Oh, you’re going to do magic? Let’s see it then.” The girl- Hermione, Anya believes she said her name was- promptly sat down next to Anya as Ron began the spell again.

_ Bluebells, rain clouds, eyes of rue _

_ Turn this mouse bright bright blue! _

There was a small flash of light, and Fluffs turned a very pale blue. “Great job Ron!” Hermione looked a bit miffed the spell had worked but smiled at Ron genuinely. “That was really quite clever, color-changing on a live animal is sixth-year stuff.” Ron was smiling proudly. Hermione stood to leave, stating that they would be at Hogwarts soon, and should get into their school robes. Anya grabbed her robes from her trunk and changed in the bathroom. As she was coming back, she heard someone unfamiliar in the compartment. “So it’s true then, what they’re saying? Harry Potter is on the train?” She recognized Draco Malfoy by his pale hair. Anya breezed past him and resumed her spot across from Harry. “Oi, Lestrange! You ought to show me some more respect! I am, after all, your superior.” She glared at him with unmasked fury and hatred. “Sod off, you pale excuse for a wizard.” Malfoy looked ready to retort but Ron’s brother Percy the Prefect appeared, apparently doing his rounds. “Is there a problem here?” It didn’t slip by Anya unnoticed that Percy’s eyes looked at her distrustfully for a few seconds before looking at his brother. “Nah Perce, Anya was just telling Malfoy to get out.” Percy looked at Malfoy, then at Anya, and nodded. “Alright then. Malfoy, get back to your compartment, we’re almost there.” 

The rest of the train ride was uneventful, and the boat ride was amazing, in Anya’s opinion. Hagrid was funny, and he smiled at her instead of scowling like everybody else. Professor McGonagall didn’t glare at her but gave her a curious look. As they all waited for the Sorting- which Anya assured Ron they did  _ not  _ have to fight a troll- the ghosts came and visited them, leaving to get settled in the Great Hall once Professor McGonagall came back. She led them into the Great Hall and there the Sorting hat was waiting on a dingy old stool. Anya watched the kids before her be sorted- Hermione went to Gryffindor- before it was her turn. With her blood pounding in her ears, she made her way to the Hat. Sitting on the stool, Professor McGonagall placed the Hat on her head. 

_ Ahh, you must be Lilian Potter.  _

_ ‘You know my real name?’ _

_ Yes. you see, it’s all up here, in your head. Where do you think you should be sorted? _

_ ‘I get a choice?’ _

_ Yes, certainly. You always have a choice.  _

_ ‘Anywhere I would best fit.’ _

_ Not Slytherin then, you’re far too kind. Maybe- _

“GRYFFINDOR!!!!” Anya heard the last word be shouted to the entire Hall. There were no cheers however, it was utterly silent. Anya made her way to the Gryffindor table, where Hermione smiled at her. She clapped loudly when Harry and Ron were sorted into Gryffindor, and Harry sat next to her as the last kid (Zabini, Blaise) was sorted. Professor Dumbledore made a speech, and the feast began. She ate as much as she could- not used to being allowed to eat as much as she wanted, and not knowing she would probably throw up in the morning. Percy showed them all to their dorms, and Anya’s last thought before falling asleep that night was that Bellatrix would be furious. 


	2. Saturday In Gryffindor Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a filler chapter, but there is Character Development.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am genuinely surprised at how fast I was able to write this chapter.

Anya had been getting almost daily Howlers- all sent away from the morning mail- from her mother and father, and knew that if she didn’t respond soon, they’d take extreme measures. Once they sent a Howler confirming her theory, Anya waiting in horrible anticipation. Part of her wanted to get it over with, and part of her didn’t want it to happen at all.

So, for the next few days, Anya walked with Harry and Ron to the Great Hall for breakfast, nervously fiddling with the sleeves of her robes the whole way. Once they sat down, Anya grabbed a piece of toast and waited. If Ron or Harry noticed her odd behavior, they didn’t say anything. Today, the moment she’d been dreading came.

The mail arrived. 

She saw a smoking black letter flying towards her on her mother’s psychotic owl, Riddle. The owl dropped the letter, trying to scratch her face as it flew out. With shaking hands, she picked up the letter.

“Whazzat?” Harry’s sleepy voice inquired. Ron answered instead of Anya. “That’s a Howler. Not only that, but it’s the worst kind. Better not open it, Anya, it could be cursed.”

“Knowing Mother, that’s probably the point.” She held the letter at arm’s length and ran from the Hall. Locking herself in an abandoned classroom, she let it drop to the floor. Right before the Howler began screaming, she heard someone else slip into the room behind her. 

She listened to Bellatrix’s manic screaming and threats, vaguely aware that she was doing that thing she did when she was yelled at- her mind seemed to leave her body and wander for a bit before coming back.

“-If you do not come back once the term ends, the consequences will be more severe than in the past.” With that, all ten years worth of scars and memories seemed to be hyperactive. She felt each scar as if it had just happened, and memories swam at the ends of her vision.  _ Ah. The Remembrance Curse.  _ Bellatrix had been creative this time. While she was lost in thought, Ron kicked the Howler, stepping on it till it was shredded and unable to speak anymore. When the last of the memories receded to the depths of her mind, she looked up to see Ron and Harry looking at her with varying degrees of concern. She shrugged and exited the classroom, them following not far behind. They made it to their first class, Transfiguration, with minutes to spare. 

Anya couldn’t focus the entire day. She was still having phantom pains and flashbacks. It was a good thing she was friends with Hermione, who never hesitated to help her out if she missed something because of it. The rest of her dorm mates didn’t quite like her, but they seemed to be gradually wamring up to her. Ron and Harry, however, became fast friends with Anya. She already loved them both as if they were her brothers, and they were funny and knew when to make a joke.

After classes that day, at around midnight in the common room, Anya was lost in thought, unable to sleep. 

“Annie? What’s wrong? Why are you still up?” Anya looked up from where she’d been curled up in an armchair by the fire. Ron and Harry were standing in the arch of the staircase, Ron looking like he just woke up. “Couldn’t sleep,” she mumbled. Harry looked at her, then promptly sat down next to her and gave her a hug. She flinched involuntarily and froze for a moment before hugging back. Once Harry pulled away, he stood up and said, “Be right back.” Dragging a very sleepy Ron back up the staircase, Harry left for a few minutes. When he came back, he was holding a big, fluffy blanket and a pillow. Ron- who looked a bit more awake- was holding a sweater and some more pillows. Harry rushed down the staircase and started setting something up on one of the bigger couches, which was coincidently the one that was in the perfect spot. Not too close to the fire, but not too far away either. Once Harry was done, he beckoned Anya to sit with him and Ron. after they all got comfortable, Ron spoke up. “You can talk about it, uh, if you want.” She shrugged. “Mum would always try and get us to talk about it when we couldn’t sleep, it helped loads.” She shrugged again. “I- I can’t really talk it. With anyone. Ever.” Both Ron and Harry nodded and began to talk about random things until she felt her eyelids beginning to close. She fell asleep to the lull of their voices and the crackling of the fire. 

The next morning, which happened to be a Saturday, they were all awoken by a stern but understanding Percy. They cleaned up the pillows and blankets- Anya helped the boys put them away once they figured out that she could go inside the boys’ dorms. Afterward, Ana left to get dressed. She didn’t expect Lavender Brown and Pavarti Patil to be waiting for her when she got back. 

“We know you slept in the common room.”

“And your hair is a mess.”

“So go shower, then come back here and we’ll braid it for you.” They didn’t say it threateningly, and Anya knew that they wouldn’t mind if she refused. But she’d never had her hair braided before, so she went to go shower. True to their word, they were waiting next to her bed when she came back. “I’ve never really had my hair braided before,” Anya said. With that, Lavender stood up and walked to her trunk, rummaging around a bit. She came back holding a pretty hair clip, which coincidently had red and gold jewels on it. “That’s so pretty!” Lavender smiled at her, then laughed. “Yeah, and I think you should wear it today! It would go great with your hair! Plus, we should do something to celebrate this momentous occasion.” Anya grinned. It was really nice having friends. 

Since it was a Saturday, Lavender and Pavarti decided to teach Anya how to braid, which led to her braiding their hair. So, when Hermione came back from the library around lunch, she fell victim to it as well. By the time they made it to the Great Hall for lunch, Anya had forgotten about yesterday morning, for the most part. She talked with Ron and Harry for the rest of lunch, and Ron offered to teach her and Harry wizard’s chess. 

Anya was entirely amused by the fact that, for all his fame, Harry was wildly opposite to the speculations made about him. For one thing, he was  _ terrible _ at wizard's chess. Anya herself was decent at it, according to Ron. So while Ron tried to help Harry improve his chess skills, Anya wrote a Potions essay she had forgot about that was due Monday. Neville, surprisingly, asked her to help him with the same essay. Neville hadn’t talked to her at all yet and Anya had a pit of worry in her stomach that it was because she was raised by Bellatrix Lestrange, who was always suspected of being the one to torture Alice and Frank Longbottom to insanity. Bellatrix had never been caught, however, even though everyone knew it had been her. “Neville?” Anya spoke up softly. Neville’s head shot up like a rocket, looking at her. “Y-Yeah?” 

“Are- Are you scared of me? You haven’t talked to me at all, and you always seem to avoid me.” Neville, admittedly, looked completely terrified at being confronted, and Anya felt bad for him. “I promise, I’m not Bellatrix.”

“Well, I mean, you were raised by her…” Anya felt like she was going to cry. “I hate her, actually. She’s a psychopath. I’m really sorry about what she did to your parents, and I wish there was a way to go back in time. At least to have her get caught, instead of getting off scot-free.” Neville looked sheepish now. “I-I’m sorry for assuming anything, Anya. I hope we can still be friends?” Anya smiled at him. “Of course! I don’t blame you, either. Pretty much everyone is assuming the same thing unless I prove them otherwise. Anyway, you like Herbology, right? Do you think you could help me with the reading Professor Sprout assigned?” Neville visibly brightened, and they spent the rest of the afternoon like that. 


	3. This Is Halloween

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit longer than usual, and I'm proud of that. Also, I apologize in advance, It's really hard to write Hagrid's speech inflections.

Anya had been excited about today’s Charms lesson. They were finally doing a practical lesson, after working for weeks about theory and pronunciation. Flitwick paired her with Harry for the lesson and Ron with Hermione. She managed to make her feather float soon after Flitwick told them to start and helped Harry- who’s wand movements were a bit off. A few rows below, Anya could hear Hermione correcting Ron. “Stop. Stop. You’re going to take someone’s eye out. Make your movements smaller, and you’re saying it wrong. It’s Levi-O-sa, not levio-SA. And you’ve got to make the ‘gar’ nice and long.” Ron turned a sort of red color, and annoyed, said, “Why don’t you do it if you’re so clever?” And she did. Perfectly. This seemed to make Ron even more annoyed, because as he and Harry were leaving the classroom, he whispered- loudly, but still a whisper- “She thinks she’s so clever. No wonder she hasn’t got any friends.” From beside her, Hermione’s eyes welled up with tears and she dashed from the classroom. Quietly, Harry said, “I think she heard you.” Anya- who hated any bullying at all- angrily glared at Ron. “You think?” With that, she chased after Hermione.

After about thirty minutes of comforting Hermione, Hermione told Anya to go ahead to the feast, insisting that she’d follow once she cleaned herself up. “I know you’ve been looking forward to it.” Reluctantly, Anya left.

  
  


Anya gasped when she saw the Great Hall. It was completely Halloween themed, and she was pretty sure those were live bats flying around. She had always loved Halloween, the crazy spirit of it enticed her. The food on the tables was unlike anything Anya had ever seen. There were pumpkin candies and caramel apples. It was amazing.

About midway through the feast, Professor Quirrell came running into the Great Hall. “TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!!!” He stopped in the middle of the hall. “Thought you all ought to know.” Quirrell promptly fainted. A beat. 

Then the screaming. There was panic everywhere. It took Dumbledore making a BANG sound with his wand and ordering the prefects to take the houses back to their dorms for order to be restored. About halfway to Gryffindor Tower, Anya turned to Harry and Ron. “Hermione!” Ron, still a bit bitter about earlier, said, “What about Hermione?” Understanding hit Harry. “She doesn’t know about the troll!” 

“Where could she be?”

“She must still be in the bathroom. I’ll go get her.” 

“No way. I’m going with you,” Harry said, a defiant tone in his voice. Not feeling up to arguing when Hermione could get hurt, Anya and Harry left to find her, leaving Ron to cover for them. They were almost to the bathroom when Anya smelled something foul. “Ugh, troll stink,” she said, pinching her nose. Harry choked out a laugh right before the troll rounded the corner. All amusement left the area. “Sweet mother of Merlin’s saggy left-”

“Language.” Anya halfheartedly glared at him before turning back to the troll. “Let’s just lock it in, yeah?” Harry nodded and they shut the door, locking it. A moment passed. Anya watched Harry’s face morphed into horror. Realization hit Anya like a stunner. “Hermione!” 

A scream pierced the air.

Harry and Anya rushed to unlock the door, finally getting it open. They ran down the hallway and Harry all but kicked the bathroom door open. Hermione was crouched under a sink, the troll’s club raised to smash it. Picking a piece of rubble off the ground, Anya threw it at the thing’s head. “OI! OVER HERE YOU BIG OLD LUMP!!!” The troll turned to them. It made an odd grunting noise and raised its club to smash them. Right before it hit them, a shout of “ _ WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!!” _ came from behind them. The troll’s club raised out of its hand and hit him square on the head. Harry and Anya turned around. Ron was standing with his wand pointing where the troll club had been moments ago. “Watch out!” Anya shoved Harry to the side, right before the troll fell like a tower. Anya ran to help Hermione out from under the sink, and they all shared a triumphant look before they heard footsteps. “What happened here?!” 

\-----

Albus Dumbledore had had a busy month. From a cursed Howler- which he still needs to speak to Anya Lestrange about- and now a troll. Which, coincidentally, Anya Lestrange also was involved in. He had a suspicion about the Lestranges, which led him to where he was now. 

“Sirius, you are head of the House of Black, correct?” 

“Yes?”

“Then would it be possible to invoke a blood test on Anya Lestrange?” Dumbledore had a sneaking suspicion that the fact that the Lestrange couple obtained a child on the exact same night Voldemort died was not a coincidence. Sirius looked thoughtful. “Probably. Why?”

“I have a theory that the fact that the Lestranges obtained a daughter the same night Voldemort fell is not coincidental.” Sirius’ eyes widened in understanding. “I’ll ask Gringotts during winter hols.” Dumbledore sighed. “And Sirius,” The man in question turned away from the door, “What do you know of black Howlers?”

\---

Anya was pleasantly surprised when Hermione lied to Professor McGonagall about why they were fighting a troll. That night in bed, she pondered how a troll even got into the castle. It just didn’t make sense. Everyone knew that Hogwarts was the safest place in Britain, aside from Gringotts. Knowing she wouldn’t get any sleep that night, Anya sighed and pulled a book from her nightstand drawer. Rubbing her eyes, Anya opened the first chapter of  _ Hogwarts: A History. _

Harry gave her a worried look when she arrived at the breakfast table the next morning, the bags under her eyes probably evident. Yawning, she sat down next to him and poured a cup of coffee, dumping a bunch of sugar in it. “There is no record in Hogwarts of a troll ever being able to enter Hogwarts unaided. Someone let it in.” Hermione also gave her a worried look, “As much as I love reading, Anya please tell me you didn’t stay up all night reading?” Anya just shrugged, “I looked in all the history books I could find, including  _ Wizarding Schools of Britain and Ireland.  _ Absolutely  _ nowhere  _ is there a record of a troll getting in a school, except when brought in for Dark Arts lessons at Durmstrang.” 

“Snape was limping last night,” Ron piped up. All four Gryffindors looked at each other. 

“The dog.” They said in unison.

As they walked to Hagrid’s later that day, Anya recalled the great three-headed dog they had found in the third-floor corridor when hiding from Filch. 

_ “Guys, let’s just go, he’s probably not coming,” Anya urged Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville to leave the trophy room once it hit one in the morning. She had a bad feeling, and growing up as a Lestrange she had to spend time with Malfoy quite a few times. “Malfoy probably set you up.” Right as she finished her sentence, they heard Filch shuffle down the corridor. “Go get them my sweet, they’re here somewhere.” _

_ “Run,” Ron mouthed to the group. They sort of tip-toed out of the trophy room, finally breaking out into a run in the Charms corridor. Peeves was shouting as they ran by, calling for Filch. They dodged into a door that had previously been locked before Hermione unlocked it with an ‘Alohomora’. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief until Neville began frantically motioning for them to turn around.  _

_ There was a huge black three-headed dog. They frantically tried to get the door open, tumbling out into the hallway. The group ran all the way to Gryffindor tower and didn’t look back until they were at the Fat Lady’s portrait, who was less than pleased with them. _

Hagrid opened his cabin door and a great big smile appeared on his face. Anya smiled back, as did Harry, Ron, and Hermione. “Hi Hagrid!”

Hagrid led them inside, offering tea and rock cakes, which they all politely refused to. When Hagrid finished making the tea, he sat down at the table. “How ‘ave yer classes bin?” They talked about classes until Hermione cleared her throat. “Um, Hagrid, we were wondering what you knew about three-headed dogs?”

“How do you know about Fluffy?!” 

“Fluffy?! That thing has a  _ name _ ?” 

“Course ‘e does, he’s mine. Got ‘im off a chap at a pub.” 

“Well, what’s he doing in a school?” Hagrid seemed to answer without thinking, “Dumbledore asked me to borrow ‘im ta guard somethin’, I suppose.” Hagrid blinked. “I shouldn’ have said that.” Hermione leaned forward a bit, eager to get answers. “Well, what’s he guarding?”

“Now that between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel!” Apparently, Hagrid wasn’t supposed to say that either because he ushered them out of his cabin after. 

Back in the Gryffindor common room, Harry, Anya, Hermione, and Ron all had the same question.

_ Who was Nicholas Flamel? _


	4. The Start Of a Theory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double Update!!! Also, I can't seem to stop writing fluff right now, but don't get used to it, as the angst train is going to hit once they start the holidays.

With all of the drama going on, including but not limited to, a troll, a three-headed dog, the holidays coming up, and a very blond pale bully, it was no wonder Anya completely forgot about her birthday. So when she came back to Gryffindor Tower after spending the day in the library, she was surprised to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione all waiting up for her with gifts in hand. “What’s going on?” Anya was utterly bewildered.

“It’s your birthday, silly! Remember? November 18th.” Anya stood there in shock.  _ They remembered her birthday? _ Her friends ushered her to sit on the couch and plopped their gifts in her lap. Anya grinned, the truth sinking in.  _ They did this for  _ her. She carefully opened the presents. Hermione had gotten her a muggle journal with stars on the cover. Harry had gotten her a long flowy blue cape, which Anya absolutely adored. Ron had given her a bunch of wizard candy, she supposed because she mentioned she was never allowed to eat it. She smiled widely at them and pulled them into a hug. “You guys are the  _ best. _ ” The group stayed up talking and having fun- Harry was still  _ horrible  _ at wizard’s chess- until Percy came down and scolded them for staying up so late. Anya and Hermione went to their dorm, Hermione bidding Anya good night and closing the curtains of her four-poster. Anya was about to lay down when she noticed a letter on her pillow. She gingerly opened it, scared it was from Bellatrix. 

_ Dear Anya Lestrange,  _

_ I don’t believe you know me, but I’m Sirius Black, your mother’s cousin. Bellatrix and I are not friendly with one another- she hates me, actually. The feeling is mutual- but I was hoping you would still like to talk to your uncle. I also would like to ask if you would like to come down to Gringotts during winter hols, as there is something I need to check with the goblins concerning you. Feel free to refuse.  _

_ -Sirius Black _

_ P.S: There should be a small gift with the letter. Happy Birthday, Anya. _

Anya recognized the name of who she thought was the  _ coolest _ member of her family. She eagerly pulled some parchment and ink out of her school bag and wrote a reply. She set the small box on her desk, telling herself she would open it in the morning. She sent her reply with the owl that was waiting at the window.

\---

Sirius tossed an owl treat to his owl and opened the reply letter from Anya.

_ Dear Uncle Sirius, _

_ Are you kidding me?! Bellatrix hates your guts. Which, in my opinion, makes you awesome. Of course, I would like to talk to you. And yes, I will go to Gringotts with you. I just have a question. (A few actually.) First off, if you’re Harry’s godfather, why does he have to live with those muggles? I’ve noticed he doesn’t like them all that much. Did you know they hate all magic? Second, would it be alright if Harry comes with me to Gringotts? He doesn’t know about the Potter Vaults and all his responsibilities and asked me for help. I don’t know if you know this, but I got sorted into Gryffindor like you did. Lastly- and this is just curiosity- is there a cure or counterspell to the Remembrance Curse? I didn’t see one in any of the books I looked in. _

_ -Anya Lestrange _

Sirius felt sick when he read the last part of her letter. His own mother had waited until he was fifteen to start using that curse, considering it could drive a younger person insane with all the stress it put on their body. If his crazy cousin really did send a black Howler as Dumbledore said, then it wasn’t too far-fetched to think that the reason Anya was asking for a cure was that it was used on her. He immediately apparated to Hogsmeade, walking through Hogwarts to Dumbledore’s office. Wordlessly he handed Dumbledore the letter. The old man read through it, expression grim. “This only confirms my suspicions. I suppose you’d like to see them perhaps?” Sirius’ mind blanked. He had forgotten that he was at Hogwarts, somehow. “Yes- Yes, I would actually. I haven’t seen Harry since before-” He cut himself off. “Anyway, I would like to see my godson sometime soon.” Dumbledore, to his surprise, smiled at him. “Why not tomorrow?” 

“But tomorrow’s a Tuesday?”

“I’m sure I can make an exception. Would you like to stay until then or-”

“I’ll stay. But what happened to me not being allowed to see him?” Dumbledore looked saddened. “If what Miss Lestrange has said in her letter is true, I made a grave mistake in leaving Harry in the Dursley’s care all those years ago.” Sirius was shocked. It was rare for Dumbledore to admit he was wrong and even rarer for him to try and fix it. “And I would like to get Miss Lestrange removed from Bellatrix’s care. It is evident that she is not a suitable parent.” Sirius was angry, for a brief second. He remembered all the Howlers his own mother had sent, and how Dumbledore had done nothing. Seemingly sensing this, Dumbledore spoke. “Sirius, I have made many mistakes in the past, quite a few of them regarding how I treated you. I should have taken action, and I regret not doing it. I am not so much of a fool to think I never made mistakes. I would like it to be different this time around, and that starts with a blood test from Gringotts.” As Sirius turned to leave, Dumbledore said, “And Sirius?” Sirius turned to face him. “Enjoy your time with your godson.” Sirius saw a genuine smile on Dumbledore’s face and left the office. 

The next morning, he walked to the Great Hall, making a beeline for the Gryffindor table. He saw Harry sitting and laughing with a curly-haired brunette, a redhead, and a girl he could only assume to be Anya. She had dark red hair and even darker green eyes, which Sirius found peculiar. Neither the Blacks nor the Lestranges had a red hair gene. Not one. Dumbledore’s theory was starting to gain some probability. He walked the rest of the way to the High Table, sitting next to Professor McGonagall. After he saw the group leave, he stayed a few more minutes before following them. 

“Harry! Harry Potter!” Harry turned at the sound of his name. “Who- Who are you?”Sirius chuckled. “I’m Sirius Black, your godfather.” Harry looked shocked, to say the least. Anya looked at him. “Are you really Sirius Black?” Sirius nodded. Anya smiled widely. “If you’re my godfather, why was I at the Dursley’s?” Sirius sighed. “Dumbledore wanted you to be safe from Death Eaters, which meant invoking a blood ward using your mom’s blood connection with Petunia. Otherwise, you would’ve gone with me.” Harry seemed satisfied with this answer, and surprisingly, he hugged Sirius. Sirius hugged him back. “Now, I’ve gotten permission from Dumbledore to hang out with you for today, and you don’t have to go to classes. That sound okay?” Harry nodded eagerly. “Oh! I almost forgot! This is Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Anya Lestrange. They’re my best friends.” Ron and Hermione waved before departing to presumably go to class, and Anya gave Harry a hug before turning to leave. “Wait, Anya. I got permission from Dumbledore to spend some time with my godson  _ and _ my niece.” Anya looked surprised- as if she thought he’d say ‘Just kidding’. “Are you serious?” Sirius grinned. 

“I’m always Sirius.” 


End file.
